System and method for providing connectivity between two different networks using different protocols

ABSTRACT

A system and a method for providing message connectivity between a first network using a first protocol and a second network using a second protocol. If a message is received from the first network, the message is processed using one or more digital signal processors, a destination in the second network is determined, the processed message is logged and translated into the second protocol, and the translated message is sent to the destination in the second network. If the message is received from the second network, the message is translated into the first protocol, a destination in the first network is determined, the translated message is logged and processed using one or more digital signal processors, and the processed message is sent to the destination in the first network. This method can be implemented as a computer program embodied on a computer readable medium.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This continuation-in-part patent application claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/964,954 filed on Sep. 27, 2001 now U.S.Pat. No. 7,373,335.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of communicationsand, more particularly, to a system and method for providingconnectivity between two different networks using different protocols.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Despite the fact that the government requires existing telecommunicationservice companies to allow competitors to access their facilities anddatabases to the extent necessary to provide competitive services,obtaining quick and reliable access to the information contained inthese databases has been difficult, if not impossible. For example,competitive local exchange carriers (“CLEC”) have not had aneasy-to-use, near real-time or real-time system that can access anincumbent local exchange carrier's (“ILEC”) database to determinewhether a phone number will accept a collect call.

Similarly, the increased use of the Internet for purchasing goods andservices has increased the pressure to validate and check pendingtransactions before they are completed. For example, an Internetretailer would like to determine whether a potential customer's creditcard or banking card is valid and whether the account has the credit orfunds to pay for the proposed transaction.

In each of the cases described above, a database query will most likelyhave to cross network boundaries, some of which may use proprietary orlegacy protocols. As a result, the processing of these queries isdifficult, slow and cumbersome. In addition, gateways located at theseboundaries between different networks that use different protocols havetraditionally used custom equipment that is both expensive and difficultto integrate into an existing system. For example, Internet ProtocolSignal Transfer Point (“IP-STP”) communications capabilities in thetelecommunications industry have been only possible via fixedtraditional communication links commonly referred to as 56K links,A-Links, D-Links or the like. Accordingly, there is a need for a systemand method for providing connectivity between two different networksusing different protocols that is inexpensive, efficient and easy toinstall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system and method for providingconnectivity between two different networks using different protocols.The present invention can be easily installed on one or moreoff-the-shelf computers or servers. Moreover, the present invention cancreate, accept and track messages in the more commonly used protocols,such as the Internet Protocol (“IP”), and translate them intoproprietary or legacy protocols in real or near-real time. In addition,the IP-STP provided by the present invention allows IP connectivity toSS7 networks in a secure mode and allows programming of specificapplications. As a result, the present invention provides an efficientand inexpensive gateway to process messages between two differentnetworks using different protocols.

The present invention provides a method for providing messageconnectivity between a first network using a first protocol and a secondnetwork using a second protocol. If a message is received from the firstnetwork, the message is processed using one or more digital signalprocessors, a destination in the second network is determined, theprocessed message is logged and translated into the second protocol, andthe translated message is sent to the destination in the second network.If the message is received from the second network, the message istranslated into the first protocol, a destination in the first networkis determined, the translated message is logged and processed using oneor more digital signal processors, and the processed message is sent tothe destination in the first network. This method can be implemented asa computer program embodied on a computer readable medium.

In addition, the present invention provides a system for providingmessage connectivity between a first network using a first protocol anda second network using a second protocol. The system includes acomputer, a first network interface communicably coupling the computerto the first network, a second network interface communicably couplingthe computer to the second network, and a computer program resident onthe computer. The computer program includes a code segment that wheneverthe message is received at the first network interface, processes themessage using one or more digital signal processors, determines adestination in the second network for the processed message, logs theprocessed message, translates the processed message into the secondprotocol and sends the translated message to the destination in thesecond network via the second network interface. The computer programalso includes a code segment that whenever the message is received atthe second network interface, translates the message into the firstprotocol, determines a destination in the first network for thetranslated message, logs the translated message, processes thetranslated message using one or more digital signal processors and sendsthe processed message to the destination in the first network via thefirst network interface.

Other features and advantages of the present invention shall be apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art upon reference to the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show by way ofexample how the same may be carried into effect, reference is now madeto the detailed description of the invention along with the accompanyingfigures in which corresponding numerals in the different figures referto corresponding parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the use of the present invention as a gateway betweenvarious networks;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts depicting the method of providingconnectivity between a first network and a second network in accordancewith the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are block diagrams of various implementations of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an IP to SS7 translation method in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C are schematic diagrams of a more detailed generictranslation method in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the making and using of various embodiments of the presentinvention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated thatthe present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts, whichcan be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. For example, inaddition to telecommunications systems and the Internet, the presentinvention may be applicable to other forms of communications or generaldata processing. Other forms of communications may includecommunications between networks, communications via satellite, or anyform of communications not yet known to man as of the date of thepresent invention. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merelyillustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do notlimit the scope of the invention.

The present invention provides a system and method for providingconnectivity between two different networks using different protocols.The present invention can be easily installed on one or moreoff-the-shelf computers or servers. Moreover, the present invention cancreate, accept and track messages in the more commonly used protocols,such as the Internet Protocol (“IP”), and translate them intoproprietary or legacy protocols in real or near-real time. In addition,the Internet Protocol Signal Transfer Points (“IP-STP”) provided by thepresent invention allows IP connectivity to SS7 networks in a securemode and allows programming of specific applications. As a result, thepresent invention provides an efficient and inexpensive gateway toprocess messages between two different networks using differentprotocols.

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a network 100 in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention is shown. The network 100includes one or more clients 102 communicably coupled to a server/router104. The server/router 104 is communicably coupled to a Signaling System7 (“SS7”) network 108 via SS7 server 106, one or more legacy networks112 via legacy servers 110, and one or more financial networks 116 viabank server 114. One or more financial institutions 118 may also becommunicably coupled to the server/router 104. The clients 102 arecomputers or other devices that submit database queries for processingvia the server/router 104. The functions of the server/router 104 can besplit on separate computers or processing devices. The servers 106, 110and 114 function as gateways between the network where the server/router104 is resident and the networks 108, 112 and 116 where the databasesare resident.

One or more databases, data storage devices, computers or informationsources responsive to database queries submitted by the clients 102 andfinancial institution 118 are resident within networks 108, 112 and 116.The database queries can be of any type known to those skilled in theart. For example, the database queries may be part of a call validationprocess, a call billing process, a bank card validation process, or abank card settlement process. The devices 102, 104, 106, 110, 114 and118 can be communicably coupled via a local network, a wide areanetwork, such as the Internet, satellite links, dedicated communicationlinks, dial-up modems, or any other method of establishing acommunication link between two devices. Communications between thevarious devices 102, 104, 106, 110, 114 and 118 can be sent in the clearor encrypted.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the use of the present invention as a gateway200 and 206 between various networks 202, 204 and 208 is shown. Gateway200 provides connectivity between a first network 202 (SS7 signalingnetwork) and a second network 204 (Internet network). Likewise, gateway206 provides connectivity between the second network 204 (Internetnetwork) and a third network 208 (Customer Equipment). Note that thefirst, second and third networks can be of any type and are not limitedto the examples shown in FIG. 2. Gateways 200 and 206 are IP-STP thatprovide connectivity between an Internet network 204 and another network204 or 208. The STP is a telecommunication switch or router thatprocesses signaling messages, such as SS7, and routes traffic throughthe signaling network. Traditional suppliers of prior art STP equipmentare Tekelec, Alcatel and Nortel.

Unlike prior art STP equipment, gateway 200 and 206 of the presentinvention can be implemented using an off-the-shelf computer with thesoftware described herein. The computer or server 200 and 206 will havea first network interface communicably coupling the computer 200 and 206to the first network 202 or 208. Similarly, the computer or server 200and 206 will have a second network interface communicably coupling thecomputer 200 and 206 to the second network 204. For example, gateway 200and 206 can be a Pentium® 4 or higher class server with at least 1 GHzprocessing speed and at least a 20 GB hard drive, such as those suppliedby Dell, Gateway or Hewlett-Packard. Gateway 200 and 206 also include adigital signal processing (“DSP”) board with SS7 communicationcapability as the interface to the SS7 network 204, such as thosesupplied by Natural Microsystems or Dialogic. Standard SS7-IP encodingsoftware, also referred to as SigTran software, which is available fromTrillium or Convergent Software, Inc., is also installed on gateways 200and 206. The remaining software is provided by Revenue Communicationsand is described herein. The DSP board, SigTran software and RevenueCommunications software provide the processing described below inreference with FIGS. 3A and 3B.

Now referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, flowcharts depicting the method ofproviding connectivity between a first network 202 or 208 (FIG. 2) and asecond network 204 (FIG. 2) in accordance with the present invention areshown. Specifically, FIG. 3A depicts the translation or conversion of amessage from the first network to the second network. A message in afirst protocol 300 is received from the first network in block 302. Themessage 300 is processed using one or more digital signal processors inblock 304 and a destination in the second network for the processedmessage is determined in block 306. The processed message is logged inblock 308 and translated into the second protocol in block 310.Thereafter the translated message is sent to the destination in thesecond network in block 312. The translated message is a message in thesecond protocol 314. The first protocol can be a signaling protocol,such as SS7, or other network protocol, such as for legacy system. Thesecond protocol can be an Internet protocol, such as TCP/IP.

Similarly, FIG. 3B depicts the translation or conversion of a messagefrom the second network to the first network. A message in the secondprotocol 350 is received from the second network in block 352. Themessage 350 is then translated into the first protocol in block 354 anda destination in the first network is determined in block 356.Thereafter, the translated message is logged in block 358 and processedusing one or more digital signal processors in block 360. The processedmessage is then sent to the destination in the first network in block362. The processed message is a message in the first protocol 364. Thefirst protocol can be a signaling protocol, such as SS7, or othernetwork protocol, such as for legacy system. The second protocol can bean Internet protocol, such as TCP/IP.

The messages describe above can be requests or responses to a previousmessage or database queries. In addition, the process described abovemay also include the steps of validating the message, sending a time outresponse to the originator of the message whenever a response to themessage has not been received within a specified time period, storing anaddress identifier for the originator of the message, storing a queryidentifier for the message, or decrypting or encrypting the message. Theprocess can be part of a call validation process, call billing process,or bank card validation/settlement process. As previously mentioned,these methods can be implemented as a computer program embodied on acomputer readable medium, which includes a computer readable storagemedium (e.g. a computer memory, CD-ROM, a floppy diskette, hard diskdrive or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions)as a combination of software and hardware.

Now referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, block diagrams of variousimplementations of the present invention are shown. FIG. 4A shows animplementation of the present invention wherein the functionality of theclient 102 (FIG. 1), server/router 104 (FIG. 1) and server 106, 110 or114 (FIG. 1) are combined on a single device 400. The device 400, whichmay be a computer, includes a client module 402, a server module 404, arouting module 406 and one or more network interface modules 408.

The client module 402 is a user application interface that allows theuser to easily and seamlessly create a database query without havingspecial knowledge of the system, network or database that will processthe database query. The client module 402 can be run in a demand modewhere the user decides when to send a database query or in an automaticmode where a database query is automatically created and sent inresponse to one or more events. The client module 402 will also presentthe results of the database query in an easy to understand format.

The server module 404 is capable of dealing with many instances of theclient module 402 wherever they reside. The server module 404 validatesthe client module 402 before any database queries are forwarded to therouting module 406. In addition, the server module 404 is responsiblefor receiving database queries from the client module 402 and sendingresponses to those queries to the appropriate client module 402.

The routing module 406 selects the network interface 408 and thedatabase to send the database query to and then sends the database queryto the selected network interface 408. When the routing module 406receives a response to a database query, it determines which of theclient modules 402 sent the database query and then sends the responseto that client module 402.

The network interface module 408 translates the database query from afirst protocol to a second protocol. The first protocol is used by thenetwork where the database query originated and the second protocol isused by the network where the database resides. For example, the firstprotocol could be an IP or Internet capable protocol. Likewise, thesecond protocol could be a signaling protocol, such as SS7, or aproprietary protocol used by the database owner. The network interfacemodule 408 then sends the translated database query to the selecteddatabase for processing. Thereafter, the network interface module 408receives a response from the selected database and translates it fromthe second protocol to the first protocol. The translated response isthen sent to the routing module 406.

FIG. 4B shows an implementation of the present invention wherein thefunctionality of the client 102 (FIG. 1), server/router 104 (FIG. 1) andserver 106, 110 or 114 (FIG. 1) are separated and placed on multipledevices 412, 414, 416 and 418. The client 412, which may be a computer,includes the client module. The server 414, which may be a computer,includes the server module. The router 416, which may be a computer,includes the routing module. The network server 418, which may be acomputer, includes one or more of the network interface modules. Thecontrast between FIGS. 4A and 4B demonstrates the versatility of thepresent invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 4B and 5, a flowchart of an IP to SS7 translationmethod in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention isshown in FIG. 5. The process starts in block 500. The client 412connects to the server 414 in block 502 and the server 414 validates theclient 412 in block 504. If the client 412 is successfully validated, anIP Query (a database query in an IP format—the first protocol) is sentfrom the client 12 to the server 414 in block 506. The IP Query is thensent from the server 414 to the router 416 in block 508 where the router416 determines the destination SS7 database and the SS7 network server418 to which the IP Query should be sent in block 510. The IP Query issent from the router 416 to the SS7 network server 418 in block 512where the SS7 network server 418 translates the IP Query into a SS7Query (a database query in a SS7 format—the second protocol) in block514. The SS7 Query is sent to the destination SS7 database forprocessing in block 516.

The destination SS7 database processes the SS7 Query and creates a SS7Response in block 518. Those skilled in the art will recognize that theactual processing of the SS7 Query may be accomplished with a databaseinterface application or other type of management software to controland handle queries to the database. The SS7 Response is then sent fromthe SS7 destination database to the SS7 network server 418 in block 520where the SS7 network server 418 translates the SS7 Response (a databaseresponse in a SS7 format—the second protocol) into an IP Response (adatabase response in an IP format—the first protocol) in block 422. TheIP Response is sent from the SS7 network server 418 to the router 416 inblock 524 where the router 416 determines the client destination for theIP Response in block 526. The IP Response is then sent from the router416 to the server 414 in block 528 and then from the server 414 to theclient 412 in block 530. The client 412 can then either disconnect fromthe server 414 in block 532 or repeat the process previously describedfor new database queries. Once disconnected, the process ends in block534. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the process describedin FIG. 5 is not limited to the use of the IP and SS7 protocols.

Now referring to FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C, schematic diagrams of a moredetailed generic translation method in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention are shown. The process starts in block 600. Theuser logs into the client module in block 602 and the client moduleconnects to the server module in block 604. The server module validatesthe user and/or client module in block 606. If the validation is notsuccessful, as determined in decision block 608, the server moduledenies access to the user and/or client module in block 610 and theprocess loops back to allow the user and/or client module to try againin block 602 or 604.

If, however, the validation is successful, as determined in decisionblock 608, the user submits a query, which is formatted in a firstprotocol, to the server module via the client module in block 612. Thequery is then sent from the server module to the router module in block614 where the router module determines the destination database andnetwork interface module in block 616. If the destination address(database) and network interface module are found, as determined indecision block 618, an error message is returned to the client modulevia the server module in block 620 and the process loops back to allowthe user to submit another query in block 612.

If, however, the destination address (database) and network interfacemodule are found, as determined in decision block 618, the server modulesends the query to the router module in block 622 and the server modulesets a timer for the query in block 624. The server module also storesthe client module address and query identification information in block626 so that the response to the query can be sent to the correct clientmodule. The query is then sent from the router module to the networkinterface module for the destination address (destination network serverand database) in block 628. The network interface module translates thequery into a network query (a database query formatted in the secondprotocol) in block 630. The network interface module then logs thenetwork query in block 632 and sends the network query to thedestination address (database) for processing in block 634.

The destination database processes the network query and creates anetwork response in block 636. Those skilled in the art will recognizethat the actual processing of the network query may be accomplished witha database interface application or other type of management software tocontrol and handle queries to the database. The network response is thensent from the destination address (database) to the network interfacemodule in block 638 where the network interface module correlates thenetwork response with the corresponding network query in block 640. Thenetwork interface module translates the network response (a databaseresponse in the second protocol format) into a client response (adatabase response in the first protocol format) in block 642. The clientresponse is sent from the network interface module to the router modulein block 644 where the router module correlates the client response withthe query (determines the proper client module) in block 646. The clientresponse is then sent from the router module to the server module inblock 648 and then from the server module to the client module in block650. The query timer is also turned off in block 650. If there are noother queries, as determined by decision block 652, the user logs out ofthe client module in block 654 and the process ends in block 656. If,however, there is another query, as determined in decision block 652,the process loops back to receive another query from the user in block612.

After the query has been sent by the server module in block 622, thequery timer monitors where a response to the query has been received. Ifthe timer has not expired, as determined in decision block 662, thequery timer continues to wait for a response. If, however, the timer hasexpired, as determined in decision block 662, the server module sends atime out response to the client module in block 664. As previouslydescribed, the client module, server module, router module and networkinterface module can be separated or combined in any configuration thatfits the application of the present invention.

If encrypted messages are required, the steps of sending the translateddatabase query to the selected database for processing and receiving aresponse to the database query from the selected database will beperformed using the following steps. The translated database query isfirst encrypted. Thereafter, the encrypted database query is sent to theselected database for processing. With respect to the responses, theencrypted response to the encrypted database query is received from theselected database. Thereafter, the encrypted response is decrypted intoa response. Any type of standard encryption/decryption method can beused.

For example, the present invention can be used to find out informationabout a specific telephone number. In such a case, the user uses theclient module to create and submit a query using the telephone number tothe server module. The router then selects the proper database, which isusually a line information database (“LIDB”) located on an ILEC'ssignaling network, to process the query. The response from the databasecan then be used to process a call related to the telephone number.Similarly, the user can submit a calling card number, credit card numberor bank card number.

The embodiments and examples set forth herein are presented to bestexplain the present invention and its practical application and tothereby enable those skilled in the art to make and utilize theinvention. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that theforegoing description and examples have been presented for the purposeof illustration and example only. The description as set forth is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light ofthe above teaching without departing from the spirit and scope of thefollowing claims.

1. A method of providing message connectivity between a first networkusing a first protocol and a second network using a second protocol, themethod comprising the steps of: receiving a message from either thefirst network or the second network, the message related to informationabout a telephone number, the message sent using the telephone number;whenever the message is received from the first network, processing themessage using one or more digital signal processors, determining adestination in the second network for the processed message, logging theprocessed message, translating the processed message into the secondprotocol and sending the translated message to the destination in thesecond network; and whenever the message is received from the secondnetwork, translating the message into the first protocol, determining adestination in the first network for the translated message, logging thetranslated message, processing the translated message by a lineinformation database using one or more digital signal processors, andsending the processed message to the destination in the first network,the processed message used to process a call related to the telephonenumber.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the stepof validating the message.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, whereinthe message is a request.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, whereinthe message is a response to a previous message.
 5. The method asrecited in claim 1, further comprising the step of sending a time outresponse to the originator of the message whenever a response to themessage has not been received within a specified time period.
 6. Themethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of storing anaddress identifier for the originator of the message.
 7. The method asrecited in claim 1, further comprising the step of storing a queryidentifier for the message.
 8. The method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising the step of decrypting the message.
 9. The method as recitedin claim 1, further comprising the step of encrypting the processedmessage.
 10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the firstprotocol is a signaling protocol.
 11. The method as recited in claim 10,wherein the signaling protocol is a Signaling System 7 protocol.
 12. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein the second protocol is an Internetprotocol.
 13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the signalingprotocol is a TCP/IP protocol.
 14. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein the message is a database query.
 15. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the message is part of a call validation process. 16.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the message is part of a callbilling process.
 17. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein themessage is part of a bank card validation process.
 18. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the message is part of a bank cardsettlement process.
 19. A computer program embodied on a computerreadable storage medium for providing message connectivity between afirst network using a first protocol and a second network using a secondprotocol, the computer program comprising: a code segment for receivinga message from either the first network or the second network, themessage related to information about a telephone number, the messagesent using the telephone number; a code segment for whenever the messageis received from the first network, processing the message using one ormore digital signal processors, determining a destination in the secondnetwork for the processed message, logging the processed message,translating the processed message into the second protocol and sendingthe translated message to the destination in the second network; and acode segment for whenever the message is received from the secondnetwork, translating the message into the first protocol, determining adestination in the first network for the translated message, logging thetranslated message, processing the translated message by a lineinformation database using one or more digital signal processors andsending the processed message to the destination in the firstnetwork˜the processed message used to process a call related to thetelephone number.
 20. A system for providing message connectivitybetween a first network using a first protocol and a second networkusing a second protocol, the system comprising: a computer; a firstnetwork interface communicably coupling the computer to the firstnetwork; a second network interface communicably coupling the computerto the second network; and a computer program resident on the computercomprising: a code segment for whenever the message is received at thefirst network interface, processing the message using one or moredigital signal processors, determining a destination in the secondnetwork for the processed message, logging the processed message,translating the processed message into the second protocol and sendingthe translated message to the destination in the second network via thesecond network interface, and a code segment for whenever the message isreceived at the second network interface, translating the message intothe first protocol, determining a destination in the first network forthe translated message, logging the translated message, processing thetranslated message by a line information database using one or moredigital signal processors and sending the processed message to thedestination in the first network via the first network interface, theprocessed message used to process a call related to a telephone number.